


Hands On Lesson (the 'Absorb, Adapt, Attack!' remix)

by AnonEhouse



Category: Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes
Genre: Episode: s01e17 The Man Who Stole Tomorrow, Fix-It of Sorts, Gen, Gen or Pre-Slash, M/M, POV Tony Stark, Sparring
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-22
Updated: 2016-02-22
Packaged: 2018-05-20 12:31:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,023
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6006139
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AnonEhouse/pseuds/AnonEhouse
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Steve and Tony have a rematch of a sparring session that had ended badly, with Hulk and Hawkeye mocking Tony's failure. This time, they're alone, which Tony much prefers.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Hands On Lesson (the 'Absorb, Adapt, Attack!' remix)

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Absorb, Adapt, Attack!](https://archiveofourown.org/works/5492159) by [Meatball42](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Meatball42/pseuds/Meatball42). 
  * In response to a prompt by [Meatball42](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Meatball42/pseuds/Meatball42) in the [Cap_Ironman_Remix_Madness_2016](https://archiveofourown.org/collections/Cap_Ironman_Remix_Madness_2016) collection. 



(If you are reading this on any PAY site this is a STOLEN WORK, the author has NOT Given Permission for it to be here. If you're paying to read it, you're being cheated too because you can read it on Archiveofourown for FREE.)

 

 

"Captain Rogers to see you, Sir," JARVIS said. Tony turned, as always a bit surprised by how quietly Steve could move. The man was, as his father used to say about the best boxers, 'of a piece'. He was never clumsy or awkward. 

"Hey, Cap," Tony said, trying to maintain his neutrality in the face of all that awesome. 

Steve was smiling at him, which was good. "Good morning, Tony. Are you ready for our practice?"

Annnd, that was bad. Steve would make three of him. He hadn't even bothered to put on a face guard before casually decking Tony, three times in a row, because he knew Tony wouldn't be able to lay a finger on him. Tony didn't really need to learn how to fall on his ass and be laughed at, he had a master's degree in that earned in college and further polished at parties. At least when he'd been drunk, people had good reason to mock him. And they weren't people whose respect he needed. "About that... my day is booked pretty solid." Which was true, mainly because he was always doing something. Generally things that didn't make his self-esteem curl up and die. "Is there any way we could postpone?" It was nice of Cap to take an interest in Tony, even if it wasn't the kind of interest Tony would like, but just, no.

"That's too bad." Steve sounded disappointed. "I was looking forward to sparring with you. You've got potential, Tony."

Huh. He sure wasn't referring to Tony's display of pugilistic failure. Maybe... could he mean something else? "You were? I do?"

"Sure. In fact, I was going to ask if you wanted to move our practice down to the lower levels. Not that I don’t like the gym, but our teammates can be a bit of a distraction at times, and I’d prefer to focus on you." Steve looked hopeful.

Tony tried to take that in, and figure it out. At the very least, it meant Steve hadn't intended to humiliate him in front of the others. Maybe beating someone up was the only way Steve knew how to show he liked you. Jocks liked to punch their friends. And pat them on the ass. That... yeah, Tony wasn't going to get his hopes up that high. But if it was a friendly overture, then Tony wasn't going to smack Steve's gesture aside. "Yeah, all right. I can put this on hold."

Steve nodded. "I'll see you in five minutes." He really wasn't giving Tony a chance to back out. 

Tony made sure everything was stable, and JARVIS was on watch, then he changed into workout gear, and went down to the lower levels, warily checking to make sure Hawkeye and Hulk didn't see him. It was ridiculous. He owned the mansion, he paid for everything, including all the casual damage Hawkeye and Hulk did just because they enjoyed destruction, and _he_ felt out of place. It reminded him unpleasantly of school, when everyone either ignored him or else mocked him because he was smarter, weaker, and richer. Yeah, happy days. Cap wasn't like that, though. 

He glanced around, noticing that Steve had reduced the room to the basic sparring setting. All the hazards and obstacles had been neutralized. He hadn't seen the place so quiet since he built it. Even when the team wasn't running cooperative exercises, the Terrible Two frequently utilized it. "We're not going to get in anyone's way, are we?"

"No one's scheduled to use this course today, or the ones on either side," Steve said.

Tony nodded. He felt better about this. So, he was going to get beat up. Steve wasn't going to laugh at him. He just wasn't going to make allowances for Tony being less physically capable, which, ok, Tony never had minded physical pain, not if there was something to be gained. He could earn Steve's respect for his effort at least. 

He was pleasantly surprised when instead of following up on the previous lesson -Tony breakable, Steve invincible- Steve explained what he was doing. He'd put some thought into this, apparently realizing that just saying 'you don't know what you're doing' didn't magically impart experience. Steve demonstrated and talked about the process of fighting. Tony hadn't considered it that way; Steve was right. He'd just been blindly flailing at whatever seemed the closest and most dangerous, while simultaneously trying to keep an eye out for his teammates, but he wasn't setting it up in a 'flow'. That made so much sense, suddenly he could see the method behind Steve's grace in combat. He knew the likely responses and was already in place to meet them before his opponent struck. No wasted motion, just the pure elegance of efficiency. Like coding or engineering, pared down to the optimal.

This. This Tony could actually understand. He could do this. It wasn't about physical strength and speed. There was a _science_ to it. He was caught up in the delight of encountering a new field when Steve smiled and said, "You're thinking too hard."

No such thing. Well, no, actually he could see Steve's point again. Tony needed to learn muscle memory, to train his reflexes. His heart sped up a little as he thought it would take quite a few training sessions with Steve before those reflexes would be ingrained. He'd make the time, somehow. Being like this with Steve- alone, and with Steve's full concentration on him... yeah. It would be worth a few late nights catching up on business.

"Punch me, slowly, and I'll demonstrate the hold."

Tony did, this time not thinking about the punch as a blow to be landed, but as a technique to be practiced. He wound up flat on his back, of course, but this time Steve did it slowly enough that Tony could see how it was done, could analyze the angles and leverages and sequence of moves in the section of his mind that _wasn't_ thinking how good Steve smelled or how much body heat he gave off this close, which was admittedly rather a small percentage. Steve smiled and held out his hand. Tony accepted it...feeling the warmth even through Tony's padded mitt... and got up. He wasn't in a hurry to release Steve's hand, and Steve didn't seem to mind. "I think I've got it. Let me give it a try."

"Sure." Steve waited until Tony was ready, and then threw the same punch, at the same speed, as Tony had. The man had impossible muscle control, which no doubt accounted for the tricks he could do with his big metal Frisbee. Tony had to work harder at it, because he wasn't --well, he always thought of himself as a brain, with a useful, and often pleasurable, body attached. He managed to stop thinking about it, and just follow the flowchart. Steve went down. He'd cooperated, but still, Tony had actually done it. 

He grinned and bounced on his toes, feeling very pleased with himself. He hadn't messed up, yay. "Well done," Steve told him, and it didn't sound patronizing, it sounded like he really meant it, that Tony had pleased him. And oh, how Tony would like to please him.

It got easier after that, now that Tony wasn't looking for ulterior motives, expecting a knife in the back. Steve was willing to repeat moves, as slow as Tony needed, willing to explain why one stance, one sequence, was preferable and in which situations. It all made sense! Tony was falling in love with Steve's brain, to make a complete set along with loving Steve's body and personality. 

He relaxed the way he could only do with people he wholly trusted, and his muscles lost their constant tension, which in turn made it easier to respond reflexively, faster, and smoother. Tony loved learning new things, it was the real reason he'd collected so many degrees, and the delight in discovering that he could actually be _good_ at this just made him so happy he felt like a kid. 

"This reminds me of dancing lessons." He smiled, remembering how he'd gone from hating them to loving the structure of it, the physical sensations of interacting with a partner, the closeness that wasn't cut short in order to leap into bed. Tony loved sex, no denying it, but he also loved cuddling. That was a weakness if revealed to the wrong person, so mostly he did without. 

"The principle is similar," Steve said, seriously.

Steve was so serious, always. Tony did a spin-twirl around Steve, playing it up, but also, all right, just a little, showing off his ass. Tony had a nice ass, Steve had his hands on it enough times during the past hour to notice.

Steve threw his head back and laughed. His eyes were bright and oh, Tony was so gone on him. "That could come in handy," Steve said, sounding serious, but his eyes were still laughing. Tony hadn't realized Irish eyes really could laugh.

Tony tried to think of a way of talking about hands that could be a joke, or could be serious flirting if he wasn't mistaking Steve's interest. Steve looked at him, expectantly, open to suggestions, please let Tony not have mistaken this. He opened his mouth and the intercom came on with Clint's voice, loud and mocking.

"If you two are done with your remedial ballroom lessons, lunch is ready. Better come upstairs before Hulk and Thor eat it all."

God damn it, Clint had been watching, watching for who knows how long? Watching and laughing his ass off as Tony pathetically tried to please Steve. Yeah, lunch was going to be fun. Tony undid his gloves, ripping them off, and wishing he hadn't been so stupidly transparent.

"Don't you have some mission briefings to read, Hawkeye?" Steve snapped, with real steel in his voice.

"Uh, roger that," Clint said, sounding bewildered and chastised, which was mildly satisfying for Tony.

"Don't begrudge them a laugh or two. I'm sure I'm pretty entertaining to those guys," Tony said bitterly. Yeah, he was a joke, all right. It's always funny seeing the rich guy trying for what he can never have. He headed for the door with what dignity he could muster.

Steve stopped him. "They're wrong," he said seriously. "You were right, before. Your armor-- your intelligence-- usually allows you to get the better of the people you fight. You’re so successful that you’ve never had to learn the sort of fighting that Clint and I have learned, and Hulk is in another category altogether. You’re simply fighting with a different kind of weapon than us, and there’s nothing to be ashamed of in that."

It was hard to pay attention to his words, because Steve was holding Tony's shoulders and looking at him. Really looking at him. As if Tony's feelings mattered. As if Steve didn't want him to be hurt. Which was how this whole thing started, now that Tony looked at it in that light. Steve cared, and just maybe, he cared a little more than for a teammate. "Thanks, Steve. I… maybe needed to hear that. And, thanks for the lesson. It was even kind of fun."

"Glad I could help." And there was that bright smile, and those gorgeous blue eyes crinkling to smile, too. He pulled Tony along with him, and Tony went, of course he did. He went willingly. He'd follow Steve to hell and back. He'd even follow him to lunch. But maybe, if he delayed long enough in the shower, the gluttons would have eaten it all, and he could be forced to take Steve out to lunch.

Yeah. His body said it was a good plan, and Steve wanted him to listen to his body more. Excellent plan. Tony smiled at Steve.


End file.
